


In Which Dave Strider and Karkat Vantas Play a Game of Chess Designed to Make Karkat a Better Leader, But It Only Leaves Him Upset and With Feelings

by StillTicksAway



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Chess, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-16
Updated: 2012-04-16
Packaged: 2017-11-03 18:24:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/384462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StillTicksAway/pseuds/StillTicksAway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Which Dave Strider and Karkat Vantas Play a Game of Chess Designed to Make Karkat a Better Leader, But It Only Leaves Him Upset and With Feelings: Contains Magnets</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Which Dave Strider and Karkat Vantas Play a Game of Chess Designed to Make Karkat a Better Leader, But It Only Leaves Him Upset and With Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> “I live near the  
> slaughterhouse  
> and am ill  
> with thriving.”
> 
> \- Bukowski

Karkat sat across from Dave, their chess pieces magnetized to keep them from falling over and spoiling the marks beneath them. Karkat stared at the starting layout, wondering which of his white pieces were marked as what, before casting a glance up at Dave’s black set, and wondering what was marked there as well.

“And you don’t know what’s marked?” Karkat asked, making sure.

“Have some ideas.”

Karkat growled, and moved his opening pawn forward two spaces. “As long as you aren’t cheating.”

Dave moved his opening pawn diagonally across from Karkat’s. “Did you ever talk to Mr. Milkshakes?”

“You’re breaking character. And his name was Doc Scratch,” Karkat said, staring at the pawn Dave has clearly set up to be taken. “He only talked to the girls.” 

“Pity we don’t know what English is like.”

“What,” Karkat responded, deadpan, locking eyes with Dave.

“Second definition of pity, Karkitty. Fine, getting in character now. I won’t lie. I’ll be obscenely polite. All knowing. But with the minor difference of having a hard on for young boys.” 

Karkat leaned back from the board, then quickly captured Dave’s piece. “You said you didn’t know which pieces were marked,” he said, brushing aside the last part of Dave’s commentary on Scratch’s character. 

“Milkshakes said a lot of things, all true. English will be worse anyway. I hear he’s already here.”

Karkat turned the piece over, then showed the picture on the bottom to Dave before setting the pawn to the right of the board. It was the Mayor. Karkat expected some sort of reaction out of Dave, but instead the cool kid removed his beloved aviators and captchlogued them away. He leaned back and took a breath, before shifting into a different position, sitting upright, grounded, commanding. “Some pawns are move useful than others,” his tone was different too: normal, adult, steady. “Many survived in that secession. Noir put a hole through that carapace’s chest. A common motif in this story.” Karkat watched Dave during the monologue, and his eyes remained impassive. But there was a layer of spite on top of it. 

“The fuck, Dave.” Karkat said impulsively. He did not know Dave could act this well. The troll was thoroughly creeped out.

“I’m not Dave, I’m Mr. Vanilla Milkshakes,” Dave responded without breaking character. “You’re an entertaining young troll. First, you demand this game happen, then you regret the decision once it starts. Young males are always so quick to react. Poke them with a stick, and they’ll jump. Poke them a certain way, they’ll react in a predictable way.” Dave moved a knight out. “And to clarify: the stick is my penis.”

“You are clearly an excellent host,” Karkat said through gritted teeth. 

“Of course. As an omniscient guardian, I can predict the needs of my guests.” He moved his knight again. “Also, this makes me an excellent chess player.” “Don’t give me that shit. You’ve been hanging out with the mayor. Chalk and chess, of course you’d be good.” 

They exchanged a few moves before Dave responded, taking a pawn.

“Yes, that carapace again. His purpose has not yet been filled. My Master has more need of him, otherwise he would be dead. In fact, you would all be. The Void secession needs a complete set. Not to function, it is a dead end game anyway. My Master wants all his toys available.”

He showed Karkat the piece’s bottom, with purple jagged lines. “What would you say if I said a vengeful boy on a path of nihilism was taken under the wings of fearsome angels, and learned to destroy hope with their light?” He pulled the pawn back into his hand flipped the piece between his fingers. “Even you’ve seen what he could have become.” 

Dave set the white pawn to his right of the board. Karkat moved a bishop across the board rapidly, trying to force Dave to react and stop monologuing. Dave gave off a smirk, and Karkat had to stop himself from shuddering. Dave could pretend to be Scratch far too well for comfort. Then again, that was the whole point in this exercise. 

“You said you would see him. But you never did. Could not. You had to be a horrible ‘friendleader’ to your Prince, and make him into a wonderful slaughter machine from pure neglect. I barely had to touch him to ensure that future. One caress…” This had been a bad idea, but he wouldn’t allow himself to back down this far into the game. 

Dave moved a rook into the line of Karkat’s bishop. “By all means, take it. Then I can tell you about Jade. You know her well. The first human to experience the night horrors trolls have. She dreamed on Prospit until her dream self died, and Jadesprite is a tragedy all her own.”

Karkat captured the rook, and checked the bottom. Of course, it was marked for Jade. He set it next to the pawn of the carapace.

“But you never knew the wonders of Prospit, and flying as your dreamself. Tell me, what was it like to have an ally from another universe stab you once you woke up there? I hope it was as heartbreaking as I designed it to be. You became all the worse a leader in your time in exile. ” Dave leaned back and gave light chuckle. “More symbolism. Noir did, after all, stab you with a sword.”

Dave moved again with his queen, quickly, not pausing in his speech, showing Karkat the yellow mark beneath the bishop without checking himself. “If your Mage had died one more time, it would that have broken you completely.” And Sollux sat next Eridan on the outside of the board. Two pieces spent. 

Karkat stared at the board, trying to think of the next course of action, some strategy. It had been easy during the game, because none of them had stayed dead for long. But after running around the meteor, dragging a half-dead Sollux while his moirail was honking in the shadows, he could not plan anymore. It was all too real. Trolls were supposed to be these harden, war-torn beings, but he had been so useless when the body count rose. 

Karkat moved his rook, and Dave captured it with his knight, revealing Nepeta’s mark on the underside before adding her to the growing pile of pieces on his right of the board. “I must thank you for being an excellent pawn, my dear knight. You are horrible at keeping your friends alive.” 

“Shut up!” Karkat yelled, standing quickly, and flipping the chessboard over. The pieces on the board stayed in place, still magnetized, as those captured fell over and scattered. “We won. We won our fucking secession.” His hands flew up to his head and he tugged at his hair, closing his eyes tightly. “This doesn’t feel like winning.

“My moirail’s holed up with a pile of corpses, most of my team is dead, and we’re facing a monster worse than the one that played us during 2 games already. How is this winning? Gog fucking dammit!”

Dave rose, leaving his character behind, and hugged Karkat tight. “This was a stupid idea. You need to stop feeling guilty for being alive.”

“Fuck you!” Karkat said, attempting to push Dave away with elbows and hands, but at the same time not trying to leave at all. 

“Nope,” Dave said, locking his arms together. “I’m serious. Yes, it sucks that a lot of people died. But we aren’t. We need to keep going. You are the source on troll diplomacy.” Karkat stopped struggling and let Dave pull him in. For a human who fought with distance and speed, he was very good at hugs. The asshole. “You kept a bloodthirsty team alive.”

“That’s not what you said two seconds ago.”

“I was being honest from Scratch’s perspective. You know he was a total asshole.” 

“He wasn’t as creepy as that. You made him into a fucking necrophiliac. And you said you didn’t cheat.”

“I had to be omniscient.” 

“Fine. No more flarping. I don’t like it.”

“Me neither. You were the one who insisted on playing a game to ‘prepare’.” Dave stopped hugging Karkat, who seemed to protest as the human pulled away, his face and body language displeased with the lack of contact. Dave mulled over the reaction for a second, before flashstepping into carrying Karkat down grey halls, and to his own pile of towels that served as his bed. “I’m going to cuddle the fuck out of you, then take advantage of the situation and makeout with you.“ “Strider, the fuck! Put me down!” Dave threw Karkat down onto the towels before flopping onto of him.

“And you’re going to like it.”

Karkat tried to crawl out from under Dave for a few seconds before giving into his cuddle fate.

It goes without saying that he ended up liking it. 

**Author's Note:**

> For the Davekat fanfic contest. I have the game planned out, but I think a move by move would have hurt more than helped.


End file.
